Just got done replaying all of the good 3D Sonic titles, let's rank'em!

[NANA]

So, last week my internet went out and I had this brilliant idea of replaying every 3D Sonic title, but then I came to my senses and decided to just replay what I consider to be the good ones, in release order. For future generations and in anticipation of the 30th anniversary thing. Keep in mind that I've fully played all of these before at least twice and I'm now judging them from a 2021 perspective*

*Sonic games to me are the most enjoyable kind of platformers so there might be some bias here, but anyway, here's my definitive ranking with some brief whys (from worst to best):

Sonic Unleashed

+Some of the best boost levels of the series
-Bad hubs: Even as someone who likes hub worlds, the hubs here are just too much. You spend a significant amount of time in them and they're just not really fun to explore, especially when the game halves Sonic's speed for some reason.
-Mandatory collectibles: Nothing kills a game for me more than trying to enter a stage only to find out that I didn't collect enough shit that should've been optional, I mean FFS, I had to look up a guide to continue playing a Sonic game, I just can't.
-The Werehog levels: I get it, every platformer from that era was trying to be a brawler for some reason, Pac-Man did it, Crash did it, and now Sonic does it.. but good Lord, the brawling is just dreadful, and every level is full of it, and searching for collectibles (because remember, they're mandatory) makes these already tediously long stages even longer.

Favorite level: Cool Edge
Favorite soundtrack: Endless Possibility
Best played on: XBO/SX or just get the Unleashed Project mod if you have Generations on PC.

Rating: Never gonna replay it again out of 10. There's a great game here buried under a mountain of tedium and it's just not worth digging through.

Sonic Lost World

+Neat parkour system
+Sonic can kick enemies
-Mandatory collectibles are back!.. Kinda, it's a number you can increase by grinding if you want, but it makes you wonder.. Just why?
-Oh God the gimmicks, they're so hilariously bad
-Momentum? What momentum?
-The Deadly Six are garbo

Favorite level: Tropical Coast Zone 3
Favorite soundtrack: Windy Hill
Best played on: PC

This game feels nothing like Sonic. It has a running button, the momentum is gone, and it's generally really slow compared to the rest, but.. It's still a fun platformer, and I really like how different it looks, so eh. 6/10

Sonic Adventure 2

+Some of the Sonic/Shadow levels are good
-Bad controls. I honestly don't know what's wrong with Sonic in this game, but I find him extremely off putting to control after going through SA1. Don't know if it's weird momentum or awkward animations, but it just ruins his levels for me
-Knuckles levels. They're long, tedious, and boring. I mean jeez, one level took me over 20 mins of going around and around in circles
-Tails levels. Another why. I'd rather play Sonic's levels again with regular Tails instead of this slow mech thing with awkward aiming

Favorite level: Final Rush
Favorite soundtrack: Escape From the City and Live and Learn
Best played on: PC

I wasn't expecting to rank SA2 this low but here we are, I don't know how they went from SA1 to this. No hub world, only 6 Sonic levels, and they're generally nowhere near as fun as SA1's. 7/10

Sonic Colors

+Some of the Wisps gimmicks are actually fun.
+Simple and enjoyable story, no edginess or weirdness.
+The only one of the bunch with no useless filler of any kind, you just play one level after another.
-Too much side scrolling. Not a big issue really, just wish it was more 3D instead.
-30fps, easily mitigated by playing it on Dolphin, but still, it launched like that with no PC option, 30fps Sonic is just wrong.

Favorite level: Asteroid Coaster Act 1
Favorite soundtrack: Reach for the Stars
Best played on: Dolphin with the 60fps patch

Ah, the first consistently good boost game. I remember how this game was the first to break the "Sonic cycle" and rightfully so. Just a fun colorful ride from start to finish. 8/10

Sonic Generations

+Fluid and fun level design with lots of spectacles.
+The novelty of combining some of the series' best levels in one game.
+The side scrolling parts are actually good, not Classic good, but good nonetheless.
-Mandatory challenges. They're not bad, but still, feels like unnecessary padding.
-Nonexistent story and cutscenes. You might think, why would you care about this in a platformer? Well, because it's Sonic. Good or bad, they always put effort into these and it's always entertaining, here it just seems like an afterthought.

Favorite level: Rooftop Run (Modern)
Favorite soundtrack: Super Sonic Racing
Best played on: PC

This is it. The peak of boost games. They nailed everything here from controls to level design. I love this game so much and I could replay it over and over. The way it combines these old levels and then add its own flavor to them is just sublime. 9/10

Sonic Adventure

+Sonic controls the best here. I don't know what it is, but the feeling of moving Sonic here is easily my favorite.
+Great hub world. Probably my favorite hub world ever, it's so well designed and memorable.
+Most charming of the bunch. The jolly vibes are just unmatched by any other 3D Sonic.
+Incredible creativity in level design and set pieces.
-Some of the playable characters can feel like filler, but you still get to see the story from their perspective so it's all good in my book

Favorite level: Speed Highway
Favorite soundtrack: Welcome to Station Square and It Doesn't Matter and My Sweet Passion and Open Your Heart
Best played on: PC with BetterSADX

Honestly it's hard to believe this game came out in '98 (late '98 but whatever), Sega was at their peak and they delivered something that should be mentioned alongside the likes of Super Mario 64 and Half-Life. I mean, find me another game from the 90s with playable set pieces like the ones in Speed Highway, Sonic was pulling some Uncharted stunts in the 90s. I also think it was the first of its kind to have heavy emphasis on story and fully voiced cutscenes, platformers didn't really catch up to this until the likes of Ratchet and Sly.

I admit that this game is not perfect but it's the closest to my heart. And the Sonic campaign is just so short that I can replay it in one sitting and move on. I love it, I love all of it, yes even Big the Cat. 10/10

Honorable mention to Sonic Heroes, I have it and I tried replaying it as part of this, I reached the first boss and then I just bailed out. The repetitive copy pasted level design and the character switching and the combat.. it was all just too much, sorry if you consider it good, but I just couldn't do it.

Logos source: Sonic Retro

Art by @TheDuckGod

 

[PlayBee]

I've only played Adventure 1 & 2, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic 06, Generations, and a little bit of Colors. I'd say Generations is the best of those, but I have a soft spot for the Adventure games.

 

[ZeroX]

I'm confused, why are there six games listed in the OP when there's only two good 3D Sonic Games?

and I'm being generous with the 3D half of Generations there


sorry to the Adventure fans but they both suck. I loved them as a kid too, I know.

 

[NuclearCake]

Generation and Colors are the only ones that I consider safe to play.

 

[CloseTalker]

Adventure 2 is my favorite of all these. I dunno if i'd go to bat as calling it the "best" though

 

[Kapryov]

Generations might technically be the best of this selection... but I don't enjoy going back to it. It was a good game, I completed all the achievements.
Modern Sonic is a fun playthrough the first time around, though the controls aren't great and you boost through a lot of it. Classic Sonic is a slightly better take on Sonic 4 physics...

I still go back to Sonic Adventure 2 every year or so. It's not a perfect game, but it's still fun to play a level or 2 and check up on my chao, it gets my vote.

 

[Cantaim]

This may sound weird OP but I actually disagree with Sonic Lost Worlds being best played on PC. Only because the wii u version had two exclusive levels and I thought they were the most interesting levels in the game. They aren't great or anything just the most interesting.

 

[beelulzebub]

With the Dreamcast, I finally got what I wanted as a Saturn kid: a 3D Sonic.

...and it was all downhill from the Orca wrecking the pier. The thirst for a Saturn Sonic was enough to last many years of buying and playing countless 3D Sonic games over the years hoping *this time* it would actually be good but let's be real here, none of them are.

 

[Zolbrod]

Generations was in my top 3 games of the year when it came out.
I was legit amazed at how good it was. Haven't played it in a while though.

 

[Tom Nook Says...]

Having not played a number of these, I really enjoyed Adventures 2. The chao garden is maybe my favorite bonus content, or whatever you'd like to call it, in a game ever. It's like they had an idea for a Pokemon competitor but never fully fleshed it out so they put what could almost be its own standalone game into a Sonic title. And the opening, snowboarding down some San Francisco-ish city, is just so memorable with the so-bad-its-good butt rock playing.

 

[Phil32]

For me, I'd say my list would go:

Sonic Generations (adored nearly everything about it save for Planet Wisp Classic and the final boss)
Sonic Colors (I hope this gets put on a modern system some day soon)
Sonic Adventure 2 (more nostalgia than anything)
Sonic Heroes (I wouldn't like playing through the game four times nowadays, but I love the theming of the levels in this game a lot.)
Sonic Unleashed (I really did not like the Werehog parts)
Sonic Lost World (I enjoyed this one overall, but had parts I loathed like that one pinball level)
Sonic Adventure (not bad to me, just not my favorite)

 

[halcali]

They're all mediocre to bad.

 

[Virtua Sanus]

I am impossibly tired of the boost format and wonky 2D segments in 3D Sonic now, so for me Sonic Adventure is an easy pick. I can still very easily enjoy it whenever, warts and all.

Favorite levels from each:

Adventure: This one is hard! Almost all of the Sonic levels are cool to me. Maybe Windy Valley Zone.
Adventure 2: White Jungle Zone
Unleashed: Dragon Road - Day 1
Colors: Asteroid Coaster Act 1
Generations: Rooftop Run Act 1
Lost World: Frozen Factory Zone 1

This may sound weird OP but I actually disagree with Sonic Lost Worlds being best played on PC. Only because the wii u version had two exclusive levels and I thought they were the most interesting levels in the game. They aren't great or anything just the most interesting.

Click to shrink...

The Wii U version has much higher flicky requirements to access levels so it forces you to replay several levels quite a few times just to play through the main game.

 

[Rotobit]

I still think that, if Sonic Team wants to make a more traditional 3D platformer out of Sonic, the parkour system in Lost World is probably the best way to go about it. It just didn't mesh well with the level design in pretty much any area besides the first part of the Zelda stage. I wish they stuck with it and didn't cave to the pressure and go back to Boost. I'd absolutely love some open levels that aren't cylinders to run around in that engine.

But yeah I'd say Generations > Adventure (original/modded PC) > Colors > Adventure 2 > Lost World > The rest

Also OP I'd suggest maybe playing Unleashed PS2/Wii since it's basically a different game with one less stage but no hub exploration. Still ain't great but it's interesting.

Generations 3DS is interesting too. Not nearly as much content, but really cool unique stages including one from Rush instead of 06 (which isn't great but that's pretty cute)

 

[arcadepc]

Sonic Roboblast

 

[TheOGB]

Really depends on the day for me. Some days I'd say Unleashed (almost voted for it here but didn't), one day I might say Adventure, one day I might say Colors. Just now I went with Generations. On any given day, I have the least reservations about Generations.

I would never say Lost World though.

 

[Mr.Fletcher]

Generations is easily the best modern Sonic game to me. A nostalgia-fuelled trip down memory lane, with awesome music, really solid gameplay and lots to mess around with.

I think it was underrated by the critics and should have got a proper sequel.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

1: Generations

Easiest poll ever.

Jokes aside, Heroes was OK for what it was. I wasn't a fan of the boostboostboostgottagofast gameplay in Unleashed on PS3, especially not with those less than impressive controls. Never really liked Adventure 1 and 2 much, and haven't played Colours or Lost World.

 

[Mugman]

I always wanted to like Generations, especially after how surprisingly great I found Colors, but outside of the audio visual presentation I find it inferior in every way. Classic Sonic levels have good design but Sonic himself feels bad to control, the later stages are way too long, there's not much variety going on outside of switching between Classic and Modern Sonic, but even then it feels like half the time you're playing Modem it's still sidescrolling anyway. I dunno, Colors was just such a pleasant surprise and very engaging for me. It's my favorite Sonic period after Mania, but that's not saying much

 

[NANA]

Also OP I'd suggest maybe playing Unleashed PS2/Wii since it's basically a different game with one less stage but no hub exploration. Still ain't great but it's interesting.

Click to shrink...

And no mandatory Sun/Moon collecting! I do have the PS2 copy and played some of it, but it's 30fps and that's just so wrong. I intend to finish it some day tho.

 

[bixente]

Sonic Adventure is awesome.

 

[KamenSenshi]

Generations is basically the groundwork for what would be my favorite Sonic game and is my fav of those listed.

 

[Diogo Arez]

Unleashed is still my favorite by far, then Adventure and Generations I would say.
I don't like Adventure 2 that much and Lost World was ok at best especially the level design that I still despise.

 

[Camisado]

Not gunna lie, part of me was hoping for this to be an epic troll of a thread and reveal there are no good 3D sonic games.

Of that list that I've played, the only one I really liked at all was Generations and even then I didn't finish it :/

 

[Adam_Roman]

I dunno if it was just my nostalgia putting a rose colored tint on it, but did the controls for Sonic Adventure 2 break between SA2B on GameCube and the HD release? PS3 and PC felt nothing like I remembered and I played so much SA2B back in the day.

My choice will always be Generations though. I love that game.

 

[Sonicfan1373]

Generations, especially on PC with 60 FPS and mods (you can bring in all of the Unleashed levels and play them with good controls), is among my favourite platformers. My main issue was the base game was too short and like the OP I didn't like the padding challenges.

 

[Zalman]

I'll just talk about them all.

- Adventure 1 and 2 are fun. They're carried hard by both nostalgia and their soundtracks, but I still enjoy them.
- Heroes is flawed but I always found enjoyment in the switching mechanic. I never want to finish it, but it's fun to jump into.
- Shadow and '06 we don't talk about.
- Unleashed is alright but bogged down heavily by the Werehog sections. It's a shame because it feels like the last game with a significant budget.
- Colors is fantastic, really enjoy this one and hope it gets ported.
- Generations is also great. A bit barebones but what's there is wonderful. Along with Colors, the most consistently good of them all.
- Lost World is a step down but at least it felt ambitious. You can tell they tried.
- Forces is neither ambitious nor good, just a waste of time in the grand scheme.

 

[julia crawford]

No kart games??

 

[NANA]

I dunno if it was just my nostalgia putting a rose colored tint on it, but did the controls for Sonic Adventure 2 break between SA2B on GameCube and the HD release? PS3 and PC felt nothing like I remembered and I played so much SA2B back in the day.

Click to shrink...

Not that I know of. Maybe you're remembering SA1? :P SA1 controls so much better than SA2.

- Lost World is a step down but at least it felt ambitious. You can tell they tried.

Click to shrink...

Agreed. It's a masterpiece next to Forces. :/

No kart games??

Click to shrink...

I wanted to focus on the 3D platformers for this thread, no kart or fan games. :P

 

[NZerker12]

Good someone else who also knows the truth.

SA1 >>>> SA2

For anyone interested in (re)playing SA1 I suggest the mod BetterSADX along with the Dreamcast conversion mod. It basically takes the awful steam port of SADX and turns it into a port of SA1 with proper widescreen support, better textures, higher resolutions, restored SA1 content and best of all most of if not all the glitches present in SA1 and SADX have been fixed. (Not the camera unfortunately but wasn't that bad tbh).

 

[p3n]

I personally think Unleashed is the best of the modern 3D entries. It has some of the endearing story/cutscene quirks of Adventure. Werehog gameplay is totally fine once you unlock and learn the more advanced combos. Dare I say it is actually quite fun and serves as a nice contrast to the daytime levels.

I loved Adventure on the Dreamcast. Unleashed feels like a love letter to SA. A really pretty one.

 

[Diogo Arez]

I personally think Unleashed is the best of the modern 3D entries. It has some of the endearing story/cutscene quirks of Adventure. Werehog gameplay is totally fine once you unlock and learn the more advanced combos. Dare I say it is actually quite fun and serves as a nice contrast to the daytime levels.

I loved Adventure on the Dreamcast. Unleashed feels like a love letter to SA. A really pretty one.

Click to shrink...

*brofist*
Rise Up, Unleashed gang

 

[Kazooie]

1. Sonic Generations: While Unleashed has the better boost levels, everything else is also good in Generations, except for the Planet Wisp level, so this is my number 1, because it is just brilliant fun from start to finish.
2. Sonic Unleashed 360: The boost levels are amazing, among the best video game content I have ever played. The overworld and Werehog are not as great, but still much better than any other alternative playstyles outside of Classic Sonic.
3. Sonic Colours: I am not a fan of a few of the Wisps, and the game is a bit too 2D, but it still is a lot of fun.
4. Sonic Adventure 2: There is a lot of bullshit in this game (Knuckles, Tails, Rouge, Eggman, but especially the damn Chao), but Sonic levels are amazing. Especially the best level ever made: City Escape.
5. Sonic Heroes: It is the most consistently fun of the Adventure era games, but it never gets close to the heights of Adventure 2's Sonic levels. The levels are too long, Team Chaotix sucks and fly characters in general are bad. But 90% of the game are fun to me.
6. Sonic Forces: It is simplified and the second worst of the boost Sonics, but still a lot of fun to me. I enjoyed all levels, was happy about the extra missions that were actually quite challenging. In particular, I want to highlight the pretty well made bonus content with Shadow the Hedgehog.
7. Sonic and the Secret Rings: Probably one of the best autorunners, with a lot of depth. The experience system, the dinosaur eggs and walking backwards sucked though.
8. Sonic Lost World Wii U: More compliated than Sonic should be, but still well designed and interesting. It does not feel nearly as satisfying as the boost games though.
9. Sonic Adventure (preferrably Dreamcast, but DX is also OK): While I do enjoy the Sonic levels, they are less polished than the Adventure 2 ones. Outside of Tails, the rest of the cast sucks to varying degrees though. The overworld, Chao, Amy and Big are particularly shitty.
10. Sonic Unleashed Wii: Way too much Werehog, the werehog is much worse than in the 360 game and the Sonic levels are also much simpler than in the 360 game. At least there is no overworld...
11. Sonic Lost World 3DS: Very difficult, extremely long levels and hard to control. There was still some fun to be had, but the game was pretty excessive.
12. Shadow the Hedgehog: The missions that aren't just going to the goal suck and some levels are made much worse due to the combat gameplay, but at its core there are quite a few good designs still here. The best of the bad 3D Sonics.
13. Sonic and the Black Knight: Wagglewagglewaggle, if there ever was a waggle game. The "boost" in this game is a bad joke (taking away all control and just moving the player forward in the level). Also, this game has a lot of grinding and next to no good level design.
14. Sonic the Hedgehog: In select few levels, namely pure Sonic or Blaze levels, the game can be fun for a few minutes, but most everyhing is broken, unfun or there just to eat your soul. Silver, the overworld and the town missions take the crown for the biggest turds in this game. The excessive loading is annoying as well.
15. Sonic Boom Wii U: It works a bit better than StH, but everthing in this game is devoid of any fun. Pure trash game.

 

[sir_crocodile]

Here we go:

 

[NANA]

1: Generations

Easiest poll ever.

Jokes aside, Heroes was OK for what it was. I wasn't a fan of the boostboostboostgottagofast gameplay in Unleashed on PS3, especially not with those less than impressive controls. Never really liked Adventure 1 and 2 much, and haven't played Colours or Lost World.

Click to shrink...

If you liked Generations you should definitely give Colors a chance.

Good someone else who also knows the truth.

SA1 >>>> SA2

Click to shrink...

It breaks my heart how most people seem to prefer SA2, even on this poll. :(

1. Sonic Generations: While Unleashed has the better boost levels, everything else is also good in Generations, except for the Planet Wisp level, so this is my number 1, because it is just brilliant fun from start to finish.
2. Sonic Unleashed 360: The boost levels are amazing, among the best video game content I have ever played. The overworld and Werehog are not as great, but still much better than any other alternative playstyles outside of Classic Sonic.
3. Sonic Colours: I am not a fan of a few of the Wisps, and the game is a bit too 2D, but it still is a lot of fun.
4. Sonic Adventure 2: There is a lot of bullshit in this game (Knuckles, Tails, Rouge, Eggman, but especially the damn Chao), but Sonic levels are amazing. Especially the best level ever made: City Escape.
5. Sonic Heroes: It is the most consistently fun of the Adventure era games, but it never gets close to the heights of Adventure 2's Sonic levels. The levels are too long, Team Chaotix sucks and fly characters in general are bad. But 90% of the game are fun to me.
6. Sonic Forces: It is simplified and the second worst of the boost Sonics, but still a lot of fun to me. I enjoyed all levels, was happy about the extra missions that were actually quite challenging. In particular, I want to highlight the pretty well made bonus content with Shadow the Hedgehog.
7. Sonic and the Secret Rings: Probably one of the best autorunners, with a lot of depth. The experience system, the dinosaur eggs and walking backwards sucked though.
8. Sonic Lost World Wii U: More compliated than Sonic should be, but still well designed and interesting. It does not feel nearly as satisfying as the boost games though.
9. Sonic Adventure (preferrably Dreamcast, but DX is also OK): While I do enjoy the Sonic levels, they are less polished than the Adventure 2 ones. Outside of Tails, the rest of the cast sucks to varying degrees though. The overworld, Chao, Amy and Big are particularly shitty.
10. Sonic Unleashed Wii: Way too much Werehog, the werehog is much worse than in the 360 game and the Sonic levels are also much simpler than in the 360 game. At least there is no overworld...
11. Sonic Lost World 3DS: Very difficult, extremely long levels and hard to control. There was still some fun to be had, but the game was pretty excessive.
12. Shadow the Hedgehog: The missions that aren't just going to the goal suck and some levels are made much worse due to the combat gameplay, but at its core there are quite a few good designs still here. The best of the bad 3D Sonics.
13. Sonic and the Black Knight: Wagglewagglewaggle, if there ever was a waggle game. The "boost" in this game is a bad joke (taking away all control and just moving the player forward in the level). Also, this game has a lot of grinding and next to no good level design.
14. Sonic the Hedgehog: In select few levels, namely pure Sonic or Blaze levels, the game can be fun for a few minutes, but most everyhing is broken, unfun or there just to eat your soul. Silver, the overworld and the town missions take the crown for the biggest turds in this game. The excessive loading is annoying as well.
15. Sonic Boom Wii U: It works a bit better than StH, but everthing in this game is devoid of any fun. Pure trash game.

Click to shrink...

I disagree with the ranking but I gotta respect that dedication! I couldn't put myself through Secret Rings and Black Knight, but I might give Secret Rings another chance thanks to your post.

Here we go:

Click to shrink...

I legit waited for an image to load, LMAO.

 

[Cartas]

Sonic Jam!

Though I voted for Generations in the end.

 

[Efejota]

Having not played Lost World or the Adventure games, I remember having fun with the rest. I'll give it to colours as the most enjoyable experience overall, even if the final boss was a bit "meh", and there were slow sidescroller section that just didn't feel like sonic. Maybe because of using the modern design/gameplay and focusing on puzzles.

If you were just going to play levels and ignore the setting then generations is the overall best game, but the way they are put together feels off. As iconic as they were, making the game end with Spagonia and Planet Wisp makes the final boss feel too abrupt. The game could have ended with a stage like Sonic 06's. Or better yet, some original level that mixed ideas from the different final eggman levels from the series.

As for Unleashed (wii), it was fun but it could get really repetitive on those boost sections where you run away from robots and that alone puts me off from wanting to replay the stages. Colours had them as well but they knew to keep them short. I don't remember having any problems with the werehog sections, actually, but it felt confusing how each stage had so many separate acts that were just sections from the main level with some changes. Colours got it right by making each level something different.

I still love Heroes despite it's flaws so if it was an option I would have voted it.
It was a really nice gameplay idea with really cool enviroments and it's a bit sad how no one has tried to make a fixed version of it. Make it so that characters don't fall into the abyss every 5 seconds, add more bosses/make the current ones more fun so that it doesn't feel that repetitive and maybe let everyone get to the final boss just by getting the emeralds with their favourite team.

 

[Zen_Master]

I'm debating voting Generations because I don't want Sonic Team to get the idea that "classic and modern Sonic" is a trope that I want more of and that should be carried to newer games. It was OK for that game as an anniversary thing, but leave it at that and just have "Sonic".

Although there wasn't much story in Generations, it felt engaging and controls were OK.

SA2 has a great intro level but controls and camera were otherwise frustrating.

The hub world in SA1 was a cool idea and the orca bit was iconic but I wish humans were not part of the picture, they just look odd/out of place in Sonic world.

 

[Jimnymebob]

1. Sonic Adventure 2: Favourite level is City Escape obviously, although I think Metal Harbour has the best flow of maybe any 3D Sonic level.
2. Sonic Unleashed Wii: Favourite level is Rooftop Run (Day).
3. Sonic Adventure: Favourite level is Speed Highway. Knuckles levels being forgettable as hell and Tails races being annoying puts this game lower for me. Sonic, Amy, Big, and Gamma are all fun to play.
4. Sonic and the Secret Rings: I've not played it in so long, but I think my favourite level was either Night Palace or Evil Foundry.
5. Sonic Unleashed HD: Favourite level was Rooftop Run again lol.
6. Sonic Heroes: Favourite level is Final Fortress. Probably my favourite final stage in the 3D series.
7. Sonic Generations: Favourite level is the 2D Speed HHighway

That's about it for me. I either don't really have a favourite level for some, like Colours and Lost World, which I found to be kinda forgettable, or it's like Black Knight, Forces, or 06 lol.

 

[Luke_wal]

No Secret Rings or Black Knight?

 

[Diogo Arez]

1. Sonic Generations: While Unleashed has the better boost levels, everything else is also good in Generations, except for the Planet Wisp level, so this is my number 1, because it is just brilliant fun from start to finish.
2. Sonic Unleashed 360: The boost levels are amazing, among the best video game content I have ever played. The overworld and Werehog are not as great, but still much better than any other alternative playstyles outside of Classic Sonic.
3. Sonic Colours: I am not a fan of a few of the Wisps, and the game is a bit too 2D, but it still is a lot of fun.
4. Sonic Adventure 2: There is a lot of bullshit in this game (Knuckles, Tails, Rouge, Eggman, but especially the damn Chao), but Sonic levels are amazing. Especially the best level ever made: City Escape.
5. Sonic Heroes: It is the most consistently fun of the Adventure era games, but it never gets close to the heights of Adventure 2's Sonic levels. The levels are too long, Team Chaotix sucks and fly characters in general are bad. But 90% of the game are fun to me.
6. Sonic Forces: It is simplified and the second worst of the boost Sonics, but still a lot of fun to me. I enjoyed all levels, was happy about the extra missions that were actually quite challenging. In particular, I want to highlight the pretty well made bonus content with Shadow the Hedgehog.
7. Sonic and the Secret Rings: Probably one of the best autorunners, with a lot of depth. The experience system, the dinosaur eggs and walking backwards sucked though.
8. Sonic Lost World Wii U: More compliated than Sonic should be, but still well designed and interesting. It does not feel nearly as satisfying as the boost games though.
9. Sonic Adventure (preferrably Dreamcast, but DX is also OK): While I do enjoy the Sonic levels, they are less polished than the Adventure 2 ones. Outside of Tails, the rest of the cast sucks to varying degrees though. The overworld, Chao, Amy and Big are particularly shitty.
10. Sonic Unleashed Wii: Way too much Werehog, the werehog is much worse than in the 360 game and the Sonic levels are also much simpler than in the 360 game. At least there is no overworld...
11. Sonic Lost World 3DS: Very difficult, extremely long levels and hard to control. There was still some fun to be had, but the game was pretty excessive.
12. Shadow the Hedgehog: The missions that aren't just going to the goal suck and some levels are made much worse due to the combat gameplay, but at its core there are quite a few good designs still here. The best of the bad 3D Sonics.
13. Sonic and the Black Knight: Wagglewagglewaggle, if there ever was a waggle game. The "boost" in this game is a bad joke (taking away all control and just moving the player forward in the level). Also, this game has a lot of grinding and next to no good level design.
14. Sonic the Hedgehog: In select few levels, namely pure Sonic or Blaze levels, the game can be fun for a few minutes, but most everyhing is broken, unfun or there just to eat your soul. Silver, the overworld and the town missions take the crown for the biggest turds in this game. The excessive loading is annoying as well.
15. Sonic Boom Wii U: It works a bit better than StH, but everthing in this game is devoid of any fun. Pure trash game.

Click to shrink...

Switch Adventure 2 and 1 and this list for me is actually really, really solid imo

 

[Gol]

My vote goes to Heroes. Its okay.

Most are terrible, especially the Adventure games.

 

[BassForever]

Generation is the best followed by Colors

Adventure 2 is my favorite

 

[NANA]

I'm honestly surprised that some of you would vote for Heroes, I respect that don't get me wrong, I just thought no one liked that game, at least not as much as the other 3D Sonics. I added the option for it.

Anyway check out this lovely Reach for the Stars cover I just stumbled on, I love this song so much.

 

[Jump_Button]

A lot of ppl didn't play colours because it should be winning by a lot

 

[jobrro]

Probably Sonic Adventure > Sonic Generations > SA2 > Sonic Colors > Sonic Lost World > Sonic Unleashed for me.

That's based on my memories of playing them when they were new or relatively new. I haven't replayed them recently.

Sonic Unleashed without the crap would be a few games higher. I actually finished Sonic 06 but couldn't deal with the token collecting and Werehog stages any more for Unleashed (360 version).

I have only played Heroes for like 30 mins. Would like to revisit.

 

[Ferrs]

Colors > Generations > Adventure 1 > Unleashed PS360 > Adventure 2 > Lost World > Heroes

 

[Tuck]

Generations is the peak. The 3D levs were masterful and very fun for speed running.

 

[ghostcrew]

I voted for Colours. Despite OP spelling Colours wrong, I think it's a lovely game and I'm, largely, a massive modern 3D Sonic sceptic.

I would say that I actively don't like 5 out of 7 of the games in the poll whereas I think Colours is great.

 

[Trode]

Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, 06, Secret Rings, Black Knight all have way too many problems and issues to be contenders for best 3d sonic.

Lost World doesn't know what it wants to be and its latter half is probably the weakest of any sonic game, so I think its out of the counting. Unleashed has a great aesthetic, daytime stages, a nighttime gimmick that is reasonably fleshed out and the hubs are charming but it feels like a rough first draft that never got the necessary fine tuning so it gets the pass too. Sonic Adventure 2 suffers from similar problems except the speed levels only make up a third of that game's content so it too gets a pass. Love the Chao garden though.

Generations is the most obvious candidate for best 3d sonic game because it has the most polished take on the boost formula and probably the most consistently fun selection of stages out of any 3d sonic game. The overall package isn't as great though, the story feels like an afterthought as does the weird overworld and a lot of the side content lacks the same polish and care that was put into the main stages. Classic Sonic without momentum or rolling was also a weird mistep. It's one of those games I'll play to replay a specific stage but not the whole game if that makes sense.

Colors frustrates me because it comes so close to being the most consistently good 3d sonic game. It has my favorite aesthetic out of any 3d sonic game, there's no reused level themes and I think it has the best soundtrack out of any 3d game. Likewise, I think wisps are the best 'gimmick' of any 3d sonic game because they compliment rather than replace Sonic's moveset. I also like the emphasis on smaller gimmick levels which encourage exploration and using wisps in interesting ways to discover red medals which unlock bonus levels and eventually super Sonic. It's a gameplay loop that reminds me of Donkey Kong Country 2 in that the collectibles have meaningful value and feel great to find. Unfortunately, it suffers from Sonic's controls being mismatched for the type of game that it is. He moves way too fast and the new double jump doesn't feel right so you end up going through the platforming segments slowly which doesn't feel great. Likewise, the level design and gimmicks aren't great, a lot of the platforming is really basic and by the numbers and some of the level gimmicks feel ill fitting not just a sonic game but for a platformer in general (who thought waiting for a door to open was a fun idea for a level?). So yeah, I love how Sonic Colors looks and sounds, but not how it plays.

That leaves Sonic Adventure. I think it's the most visible flawed sonic game. It looks dated and the voice acting is terrible. Likewise, I don't think that the first level is a good first impression as is the poor signposting what you have to do next. However, I think Adventure remains the most genuine effort to translate 2D Sonic into 3D. For one thing, I think Adventure has the most solid implementation of how Sonic should control in a 3D space. Sonic doesn't go instantly fast but rather he gets increasingly faster while still being controllable. I really like the boost and how its not just a means of going faster but a way of interacting with the environment to get to places you couldn't normally reach. The level design accomodates how Sonic controls really well too. There aren't many hallway style levels, every level feels like it has its own unique structure and gimmicks and more importantly, they are all built around Sonic's momentum so that a good understanding of Sonic's controls allow access to secrets and areas which is how it should be. I think the optional playstyles are implemented surprisingly well with the exception of Amy Rose and Big the Cat and I really enjoy how they are told as different perspectives of the same story. Racing against Sonic as Tales and being able to fly over the levels you'd usually run through is a really great take on how Tales could play in a Sonic game and I'm disappointed it hasn't really gone anywhere. Overall, I think that Sonic Adventure, in spite of its age, nails the essentials of a 3d platformer such as controls and level design. Thus, I think its the best 3D sonic game.

Edit: Bottom of the page :/